Shadow Keeper: Rebirth
by SiriuslyimSirius
Summary: When the night of confusion to many happens, Harry Potter will cease to exist and will be thrust into a world where he isn't welcome.
1. A Night Out On the Town

"Come on, Prongs. You and Lily haven't been out of the house for over a month now!" Sirius whined to his friend.

"Hey, that's not true!" Lily Potter protested over her shoulder from the sink, where she was doing the dishes. "We just went out to do some shopping."

"Actually, Remus did that for us, honey." James Potter remarked amusedly as he flipped a page of The Daily Prophet. "The last time we were out of this house, well, out of the wards, was approximately one month, three days, nine hours, and twenty-six minutes ago."

"You keep track?" Sirius asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Something to keep myself busy with." James said as he shrugged, his eyes back on his paper while Lily continued to do the dishes behind him.

"You guys avoided answering, again!" Sirius said in frustration, sitting back on the chair he occupied at the kitchen table.

"I've already told you Sirius, you need to take it up with Lily. I'm willing." James remarked, not having looked up from the newspaper in the past ten minutes.

"Please, Lily!" Sirius pleaded, just as she finished the dishes.

"I don't know why you want us to go out so much Sirius; it's only an Order meeting." Lily explained as she dried her hands with the dish towel.

"It's only an Order meeting?" Sirius asked, shocked.

"Well, you have to agree that we don't play a very active role in it anymore, Sirius." James said, as he finally put the paper down. "Thanks for bringing this, by the way, " he said as he gestured to the paper on the table.

"It's only a paper, least I could do." Sirius remarked. "So, are you going to finally leave you house after, how long as it been again?"

"Now it's," James glanced at the clock. "One month, three days, nine hours, and thirty minutes."

"Exactly, now are you finally going to leave after all that time?"

"I don't know, Sirius…" Lily said uneasily.

"Come on, it'll be good for you. Think about it, you'll be able to converse with different people!" Sirius pleaded as he leaned across the table.

"My family is plenty enough for me." Lily said defensively.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure they are, but this is different! You'll be able to see Alice again! You haven't seen her in almost a year!"

"That would be nice…" Lily said uncertainly. "I've only been able to talk to her through the messages you deliver to her, and Order meetings have been so infrequent lately…"

"Is that a yes?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"I don't know, what do you think James?" Lily asked, indecisiveness lacing her words. James, who had been staring out the window, looked at his wife.

"I love this house Lily, I really do, but sometimes, we just need to get out." James said, having no trace of emotion in his voice. Noticing the effect this had on Lily, Sirius swooped in for the kill.

"Come on Lily, even James knows you guys need to get out! Alice and Frank have been out of hiding for almost two years now!"

"But the prophecy…" Lily began only to be cut off by Sirius.

"Who cares? Voldemort doesn't care about the damned prophecy anymore! The prophecy could have been about Neville and nothing's happened to him! Voldemort has had enough chances to attack Neville, but he hasn't!"

"What I don't understand," James said, cutting in before a fight could break out. "Is why you want us to leave the house so badly?"

"I want you two to go Prongs, because I'm sick and tired of coming over here and seeing you two mope around all the time! I'm sick of Lily always doing chores and pretending she's happy about it. I'm sick of having to bring you a newspaper when you should be able to leave your house and get it yourself. And I'm sick of my friends being afraid to leave their damn house!" Sirius finished loudly, knocking his chair over when he stood up suddenly. Lily and James both stared at Sirius quietly, as he stood there, staring back at them.

"I didn't know you felt so passionately about this, Padfoot." James said, looking down at his hands.

"Yeah, well, all you ever do when I'm over is read the damn paper." Sirius snapped back. "I mean, I love you guys and everything, but lately you've been like zombies."

"If we go, will that make you happy?" Lily asked quietly.

"It's not about making me happy Lily, it's about you two getting out more, even if it isn't to the Order meeting. Moony and me could babysit for you while you go to see a film or something."

"So now, you don't want us to go to the Order meeting?" James asked lightly, trying not to anger Sirius.

"It never really was about the Order meeting, I just want you two to be normal again."

"Normal?" Lily asked with her eyebrow raised. "I doubt our family will ever be 'normal'."

"You know what I meant." Sirius laughed nervously; glad the tension he had created was gone. "So, are you going to finally leave your prison?"

"I really would love to Sirius, but would you and Remus really be up to babysitting?" Lily asked, slightly nervous yet hopeful.

"Of course! Two five year olds can't be too hard to watch." Sirius replied cheerfully.

"Great!" Lily said, smiling her largest smile in a while. "Where should we go, James?"

"Wherever you want to go, Lily." James said happily. Sirius smiled as the two began to discuss where to go. He was glad that his plan had worked for once.

"You could go into town." Sirius suggested out loud, occupying his chair again.

"Oh! We could! We should go to the cinema, James!" Lily said excitedly.

"The cinema?" James asked, trying to rack his brain for the muggle word.

"Oh come on, I used to take you to see them all the time when we could go out. You remember?"

"Of course I do, Dear." James laughed, after a little while longer of thinking.

"Hmm, I'll need to find something to wear." Lily said to herself as she quickly left the room. James and Sirius sat in silence before James spoke up.

"Thanks, Padfoot."

"Its fine, that's what I trying to make happen the whole time. I wanted you two to get out of the house for a while." Sirius said happily as he looked outside, the sun was beginning to set. He wondered how much longer it would take for the Order meeting to start. "You know, this'll be the first Order meeting I'll have missed in a long time."

"If you want to go Sirius, we can stay home."

"No, no." Sirius said quickly. "I was just saying. It feels kind of nice anyways, knowing that for once I won't know about a death or torture that the public won't learn about. Plus, I won't have to sit through one of Snape's reports."

"Oh merlin that's something I definitely haven't missed." James said, laughing along with his long-time friend.

"What are you two laughing about?" A voice behind them asked.

"Moony! When did you get here?" James asked. Remus opened his mouth only to be cut off.

"REMUS IS HERE!" The three heard Lily scream from upstairs.

"Just now." Remus laughed. "What were you laughing about?"

"Oh, just about how horrible Snivellus' reports are." Sirius replied.

" 'Headmaster, Lucius Malfoy wiped his arse yesterday at three. Headmaster, Bellatrix Lestrange's three year anniversary of not washing her hair was yesterday. Headmaster, can I lick your boots?" James said, trying to make his voice sound like Snape's. Remus just shook his head as James and Sirius laughed together.

"Oh! Moony, my magnificent plan worked and tonight, we become babysitters!" Sirius said happily.

"Oh, sounds good." Remus said tiredly.

"Is something wrong?" James asked worriedly.

"I just feel weird. There's a lunar eclipse in three days and it's leaving me out of sorts." Remus explained. Sirius opened his mouth to ask Remus a question, only to be cut off by Lily leaning through the doorway to speak to James.

"I hope you're getting ready James, I only have to get changed."

"Of course I am, Honey!" James called to the closing door.

xXxXx

"We won't be gone for too long. We're just going to dinner and then going to see a film." James explained as he put his black leather coat on.

"It's fine. Stay out as long as you want, just make sure you enjoy yourselves." Sirius said happily.

"If you need us, I left the name of the restaurant and the film we're going to see on a piece of parchment in the kitchen. Don't hesitate to come and get us if there are any problems." Lily informed them nervously.

"It's fine! Go out! Be careful with all the kids out there though, they're crazy on Halloween." Sirius said jokingly as he gestured them out the door. James rolled his eyes at him.

"Come on Lily, we can tell when we're not wanted." James said as he put his hand around her waist. Lily just shook her head as James opened the door for them. Lily took one last look inside the house before James closed the door.

"Finally! I thought they'd never leave." Sirius said happily.

**A/N: ** Here's the revised chapter 1, I hope you like the newer version of SK better than the older one. This doesn't really get into the plot much, but actually does play a roll in the story. The next update (which has more happening) will be put up next wednesday.


	2. Liar

The Other Son

"Come on Ryan, walk to mama!" Lily encouraged her thirteen month old son, who sat only a few steps away.

"Mama!" Harry giggled, tugging on his mother's shirt. He hoped his mother would be happy, he'd been working on it for the past week!

"Good job, Harry!" Lily turned to her other son. Harry giggled more as Lily crushed her son in a hug.

"Is there a reason you're trying to crush my godson to death?" Sirius asked as he entered the room with his two best friends in tow.

"I'm encouraging my sons to walk around more." Lily explained, letting go of Harry.

"They walk around plenty." Sirius disagreed, grabbing Harry, who began to giggle as Sirius tickled him.

"Not with you carrying them around all the time." Lily admonished sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor. "I don't think they've really ever had to walk anywhere. We give in to them too much."

"They've got you wrapped around their little finger." Remus agreed as he sat on the couch.

"What happened to everything we talked about James? We weren't going to let them control us and we wouldn't be the kind of parents that carried them everywhere." Lily complained as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I know, but that was before we knew how cute they were." James joked as he began to tickle Ryan, who had previously been watching the adults. He began to giggle uncontrollably. It seemed perfect; the family, including Sirius and Remus, were all together and peaceful.

Then the doorbell rang.

The four adults turned to the door in shock, almost uncertain if they had heard the noise or not.

"Lily, take Ryan and Harry." James said quietly, handing Ryan to his wife. He took out his wand as Sirius and Remus did the same.

"I can't just leave you." Lily whispered defiantly. "I'm not going to let you and your friends run off and play hero!"

"Lily, please!" James urged. "I can't let anything happen to you or the kids just go! The emergency portkey is in the bedroom."

"But James…" Lily protested unsure whether to more or not.

"How do we know it's just not Albus?" Remus asked, having thought things through. "I mean, he is the only other one who knows where the house is. Sirius wouldn't have told anyone else."

"But, Albus didn't tell us he was coming and he always does." James weakly protested, not wanting to accuse his friend.

"How about I check?" Remus suggested. Without waiting for them to answer, he slowly walked towards the door.

"Remus!" James hissed quietly from behind. Standing on his tip-toes, Remus looked through the peephole

"It is Albus." Remus informed them. He went to open the door only to have his hand swatted away by James.

"I still don't know if we should." James said quietly.

"Do you really think I would have told anyone else, James?" Sirius asked. James opened his mouth to answer, only to be cut off.

"I know you're there, James, Sirius, and Remus. I can hear you talking! This is important, James I must speak with you and your wife, urgently!" Albus explained, loudly.

"I'm opening the door." Remus informed his friends. He slowly moved his hand towards the doorknob, as James looked on nervously. Opening the door slightly, Remus looked out. He pointed his wand at Dumbledore through the gap.

"What importance does the Shrieking Shack hold for me?" Remus asked cautiously, ready to fire off a spell at any moment.

"It is where you transformed, monthly." Dumbledore said impatiently. Nodding his acceptance, Remus opened the door for Dumbledore to enter. He quickly pushed through, looking between James and Lily rapidly.

"We have a problem. A prophecy's been made."

xXxXx

"Uncle Remus?" Four year old Harry Potter said, pulling on the bottom of his uncle's shirt.

"How times do I have to tell you Harry, you can just call me Moony." Remus laughed as he picked up Harry.

"I'm sorry." Harry apologized quickly.

"It's fine Harry." Remus laughed. "What did you need?"

"Can you come to my room for a second?"

"Certainly." Remus agreed.

Putting Harry on his shoulders, he took off up the stairs. Remus smiled at the laughter of the young boy. His only wish at that moment was for Harry's room to be farther away from the living room to prolong the boy's laughter as he rarely ever heard Harry laugh anymore. He couldn't really help himself when his shoulders sagged in sadness when Harry stopped laughing. Opening the door to Harry's room, Remus was surprised at the amount of books on Harry's bed.

"What are all these books for, Harry?" Remus asked, putting Harry down on the ground. Not bothering to answer, Harry ran to his bed and grabbed a book. Nervously, he turned to face Remus.

"Can you teach me this?" Harry asked quietly. Picking up the book, Remus looked at its contents in surprise.

"Where did you even find this?" Amusement evident in Remus' voice, looking casually through the pages.

"No! Don't turn the page." Harry said, tentatively. "Sorry." Remus replied, closing the book. "What's so great about this page?"

"It has the best picture." Harry said shyly.

"You've looked through it all?" Remus asked with a raised brow. Harry nodded quickly. "I'm surprised, Harry. Did you understand any of it?"

"Not too much." Harry admitted. "Can you teach me?"

"I think you may be just a little bit too young, Harry. When you're older, I promise we'll teach you. How does that sound?" Remus asked as he put the book back in its place.

"You promise?" Harry asked excitedly.

"I promise." Remus said as he put his hand on Harry's shoulder, to guide him out of the room, both leaving behind the assortment of books showing pictures of magical transformations. One of which, the Marauders had studied reverently.

xXxXx

"Padfoot, why can't we go outside?" Harry asked sadly, gazing out of the window from the window seat in his room. His frown deepened as another flash of lightning streaked across the sky.

"I don't know buddy. You can blame you mother for that one" Sirius commented idly as he flipped a page in a book he had grabbed from Harry's bookcase. "How did you even get this book?

"You'll have to be a little more specific." Harry commented as he watched the raindrops race each other down the window.

"101 uses of tentacles? Why would someone even write a book about this?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Leave it alone!" Harry said defensively, jumping up to grab it from Sirius.

"Sorry kiddo, I didn't know it held much use for you." Sirius said with amusement in his eyes.

"It's not that. Remus charmed it for me so only I know what's actually in it." Harry said as he put it back in his bookshelf.

"What's in it?" Sirius asked excitedly. He tried to grab it from the bookshelf, only to have Harry snatch it away.

"It's mine!" Harry said desperately, attempting to keep the book away from Sirius.

"Come on, let me see." Sirius whined, as he began to chase Harry.

"No, Sirius." Harry laughed, running out of his room. Harry ran down the stairs, jumping the last two with Sirius following closely behind.

"Harry! Give Sirius back, whatever you took!" Lily admonished her five year old son from the kitchen.

"I didn't take anything from him, honest!" Harry said, his mood changing in the blink of an eye. Sirius, who had tripped in the upstairs hallway, only just made it down the stairs.

"Give it back, Harry!" Sirius demanded in jest. As Sirius stopped himself before he ran into Harry, he missed the glare Lily sent towards her son.

"How dare you lie to me?" Lily screeched in rage as she brought her hand back before letting it smack across Harry's face. Harry whimpered in fear and took a step back. He cowered into Sirius and Sirius looked at Lily in shock.

"Lily…"

"No Sirius, he deserved it! Lying to me like that, the nerve of the boy! Is this what he took?" Lily asked with a red face snatching Harry's book out of his hands. She shoved it towards Sirius.

"He didn't take it from me, it's his." Sirius said quietly. Harry reached out to grab it, only to have it taken away.

"You think you're going to get this back?" Lily asked with laughter in her voice. Bringing out her wand, she muttered a spell and watched in satisfaction as it burst into flames.

"No!" Harry cried out with tears running down his face.

"That'll teach you." Lily said with a smirk as she dropped it to the floor. Harry stared at it for a few seconds before taking off up the stairs.

xXxXx

"Please, just let me keep it!" Harry begged with tears in his eyes.

"No. You shouldn't have taken it without permission!" James yelled back. "Now, we're is it?"

"Over there." Harry said quietly, pointing to his bookshelf.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and get it, unless you want me to tear this room apart, looking for it." Harry shuffled over to his bookshelf and hesitantly raised his head.

"Please." Harry pleaded, tears in his eyes. "Can't I just keep it for a little while longer? It's not like you need it anymore..."

"No, you cannot keep it any longer! You shouldn't have taken it in the first place! It's not like you'd ever be able to understand what was in it, anyway." James yelled at Harry. Harry flinched at the noise but reached up to grab the book nonetheless.

"Here you are." Harry whispered quietly. James snatched the book out of his hands and glared at Harry.

"If you ever take something from me again," James whispered, anger shining through his eyes. "I will make you wish you hadn't."

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered again, just wishing his father would go away.

"As you very well should be." James replied and turned to leave. Something inside Harry snapped, exposing the anger that had been previously hidden by the seven year old's fear.

"I hate you. You're the worst father ever! I wish you and the rest of this family were dead!"

"Excuse me?" James quietly asked, the white knuckles he gripped the book with, the only evidence of his anger.

"I hate you! I wish I could go and live with Sirius, he was more of a father than you ever were!" Harry screamed, trying to stand his ground as James advanced on him.

"You shut UP!" James said as he whipped the book at Harry, hitting him in the stomach. Harry fell to the ground in pain, not realizing James was still yelling at him "…Mother have provided everything for you! We give you a room, a bed; we buy your stupid books! Me and your mother are going out, so you better get off the floor and help your uncles!"

Harry felt himself let out a breath as he heard the door slam shut. He felt the pain in his stomach and the tears cascading down his face. He lay there, eventually pulling his knees up to his chest. He wept for himself, not caring how much trouble he'd get into for laying on the floor. His parents always hated it when he did "nothing".

"Are you ok, Harry?" A quiet voice enquired, somewhere in front of him. He looked up to find Remus kneeling in front of him, concern etched in his face. Harry just looked up at him for a couple of seconds before something in his mind clicked into place.

"You…" Harry whispered.

"What, Harry?" Remus asked cautiously.

"You… You told him I had the book! You're the only person I told! How could you do that, Uncle Moony?" Harry asked, his voice becoming more hysterical as he continued. Remus just looked down at him with shock and sadness.

"Harry… I really didn't mean to. It just slipped out. I swear, I never wanted this to happen." Remus said quietly. Harry got to his feet.

"No. You're just like them, I hate you!" Harry screamed. He began to push Remus, who had stood up with Harry. He didn't care that Remus was significantly larger than him, he just continued to push. "I hate you! I hate you! Get out of my room!"

"I'm sorry Harry." Remus said quietly. "I'll leave."

"Good. I don't ever want to see you again!" Harry screamed as Remus shut the door with an inaudible click.

**A/N:** Well, there's the revised chapter two. I hope you liked this version more than the previous one. As always, thank to my lovely Beta, Tindual, for her help.


	3. The Town

The Town

_Pain _

Coming to his senses, the soon-to-be-eight year old boy with messy black hair, couldn't recall ever feeling this much pain. _What happened_?

The last thing he remembered was yelling at Remus .Harry cringed as his words rushed back to him, he really shouldn't have been that awful to the man. He and Sirius were the only ones who still cared. Harry went to roll over to get up so he could go downstairs and apologize. Only, he wasn't in his room.

Nor was he even in his house.

Harry forced himself to roll over so he wasn't getting a mouthful of dirt. He looked to the sky, closing his eyes quickly as the light assaulted them. Waiting a moment, Harry re-opened his eyes and tried not to blink when the light flooded his vision, once again. Noting that the sun was right above him, Harry did the math quickly in his head.

_If the sun is overhead, it has to be about noon. There was _no _way thirteen hours could have passed by already! _Harry thought frantically.

Harry looked back to the sky again. Something was odd… he just wasn't sure what.

"Hello?" Harry called out loudly, his voice rough from the lack of water. Harry listened for a reply, but the only sound he heard was chirping from the birds. He slowly picked himself off the ground, brushing dirt off his clothes as he did so.

"Is anybody there?" He tested again, sorely disappointed when even the birds didn't answer this time. With a sigh, Harry looked around; he was in a clearing, surrounded by large trees he couldn't see past. He saw signs of camp fire that didn't seem to be too old, as well as a couple of footprints. Relief flooded Harry as he realized he couldn't be _too _far away from civilization, his only concern was which way to start walking.

Harry walked towards a tree on the edge of the clearing. Upon closer inspection, he decided it wouldn't be too hard to climb with the help of the branches. Climbing the tree, the green eyed boy began to reconsider his athletic abilities. Sure, he would run around outside from time to time, but he decided he needed to pursue a more active lifestyle.

Harry finally reached the top and stood on the highest branch he could. Trying to see above the canopy of trees was harder than he had originally thought. Various trees had grown taller than the ones below obstructing his view of the horizon; of course, not picking the tallest tree did not help the situation either. Still, Fate seemed to be on his side as he caught a glimpse of a stone structure in the distance and judging by the direction of the sun, it seemed to be west. Memorizing his destination, Harry climbed down the tree.

Harry took one last look around the clearing before he began to set out for what he hoped to be a civilization.

He entered the trees.

He wanted to turn back…

Now, Harry wasn't necessarily afraid of the dark, he was just bothered by it. Dark was ok, but this, this was _way _past dark. It was as if the area was absent of any type of light at all. He could barely see the trees he knew were present; which required him to throw out his arms to feel around. Many times he tripped over roots and scratched his jeans, but silently thanked Merlin that he wore muggle clothes; he could not have made this journey with that cloak.

Harry continued to walk in silence when he finally realized what had been nagging him about this forest; the lack of wildlife. Granted, the forest was dark and dense, therefore certain animals wouldn't find the area as habitable as others, but there still should be _something_. Almost as if reading his mind, a branch snapped in the distance, reassuring Harry for a second, only a second, because in the distance he heard another noise. It was so low and guttural that Harry almost didn't hear it.

Almost.

Harry paused for a second.

Something was growling.

He knew if he began to run, the thing, whatever it was, would begin to chase him. Predators loved a challenge, and Harry could not give it the pleasure of hunting him down. Harry held his body perfectly still and waited to see if the growling would continue or if the animal would decide he wasn't worth it. Harry felt his panic subside when the growling stopped and he let out a breath.

Bad idea.

The growling kicked up a notch, and Harry heard feet pounding on the ground to his left accompanied by sound of branches snapping under the weight. Terrified, Harry began to run at full speed straight ahead with his hands in front of him, as the noise drew closer.. Harry again regretted not being more athletic, even if he was quite adept at running. Unfortunately, being skilled at running does not mean he could run through a forest in the dark unscathed, and Harry was made painfully aware of this fact as his shirt caught on a branch and it sent him twirling forward.

Light assaulted Harry's senses as he flew out of the trees, giving a loud yelp at the sudden brightness. Harry lay on the ground with his hands over his eyes, waiting for them to adjust, relieved that he could no longer hear the growling or pounding of the animal's feet.

_What have I gotten myself into? _Harry thought quietly.

"Are you ok?" A voice asked from somewhere above. Harry cautiously opened his eyes, unsure if they were fully adjusted or not.

"My… eyes." Harry groaned out painfully.

"Yes, well that's what you get for going against the Kings' order to not go into the forest. Especially a boy like you, you can't be older than seven!" Harry flinched as he heard the man yell at him. It was different though, less… hostile. Had he even heard the man chuckle? Harry cautioned a look upwards.

The man was looking down at Harry with a gentle smile on his face. He seemed to be in his twenties, from what Harry could tell. Amusement filled his golden-yellow eyes as he stuck out a hand to help Harry up, his straight black hair barely fell around his eyes.

"Thanks." Harry muttered, grabbing the man's hand. He brushed off the dirt on his clothes and his hand glided over a large cut on his shirt. "Great. I'm sure they'll just _love_ this."

"I can get you fixed up, if you wish?" The man offered.

"Thanks." Harry said again, staring curiously at the man when he didn't take out his wand. "So?"

"So, what? You'll have to come with me if you want a new shirt." The man said, somewhat amused.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Harry yelled in protest. "Just fix it with your wand!"

"My wand?" The man chuckled, "You certainly are far away from home, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Where are you from?" The man asked kindly. Harry opened his mouth to tell him address, but no words came out. He tried again, but not even a sound was emitted. The man took it as shyness and asked again where he was from.

"I…I…I can't say." Harry muttered.

"It's ok, you can tell me. Once you do, I can take you back home."

"No, I physically can't tell you. My house is under the Fidelius charm. And who said I _wanted _to go back?"

"Hmm, that does pose a problem, doesn't it?" The man said, ignoring the second part of Harry's sentence. "First of all, what's a Fidelus charm?"

"A Fidelius charm," Harry corrected, looking at the man oddly, "hides things"

"Let's get back into town before we find out a way to get you back. The Kings definitely wouldn't be happy if they found you here." The man said as he held his hand out for Harry to grab.

"_Kings_?" Harry asked as he stared incredulously at the man. "Wizards haven't had a King in _centuries! _And you want me to follow you? I don't even know your name! I may be young, but I'm not an idiot." Harry said defiantly.

"Dear boy," The man chuckled. "whomever said you were with _wizards_?"

"So, what are you?" Harry asked nervously, edging back a little bit.

"Don't worry. I wouldn't harm you." The man said kindly. He cast a quick glance at the forest. "However, whatever is in there, might."

"Alright." Harry said quickly after a glance back into the forest where he imagined the monster that tried attacking him was still lurking. The man stuck out his hand eagerly but Harry paid no heed to it and began to walk.

"I don't think I've properly introduced myself," The man said as his steps fell into place with Harry, "I'm Cyrus."

"I'm Harry." Harry said stiffly as they approached another grouping of trees. "I thought you said the forest was unsafe?"

"It is. But this isn't the forest; this is merely a ring around the town." Cyrus informed him. Harry looked to his left and right and indeed, the trees seemed to curve, he stepped into it and was glad at the fact that his eye sight wasn't fully cut off. Harry and Cyrus walked together in silence for a little while before light shone up ahead. Breaking out of the ring of trees; Harry was amazed by what he saw.

The first immediate difference was the sound. It was as if there was a silencing charm between the trees and the town. The noises assaulted Harry's ears as he heard people laughing and yelling. He looked around and was amazed by the buildings; small bungalows were crowded everywhere on the grey brick ground.

The most amazing thing however, was the black castle that loomed above. Harry could barely make it out from where he was from, but he he could tell it was massive.

He moved quickly out of the way as two kids barreled towards them. One, not paying attention to where he was going, crashed into Cyrus, while the other walked back into the shadows to hide. The boy who had not being paying attention, looked up with amusement and Harry guessed he was going to apologize, upon seeing Cyrus, however, his facial expression turned to worry.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Please, I really didn't mean to do it! I'm really sorry!" The boy said quickly. Meanwhile, Harry looked for the boy's friend and barely saw him, it seemed that he had blended into the shadows perfectly.

"It's fine," Cyrus chuckled, "just make sure you watch where you're going next time." Cyrus ruffled the boy's hair. Harry watched the exchange in confusion. Personally, he would have snapped at the man not to touch him, but Harry was generally against human contact, as the only contact he received lately was in the form of punishment.

"I will! I swear!" The boy said quickly as he turned and ran off. Harry watched in silence and he turned to Cyrus who was watching the boy run.

"Why was he so afraid of you?" Harry asked, breaking Cyrus out of his reverie.

"Hmm? Oh, no reason." Cyrus said lightly as he began walking again.

"Are you going to answer any of my questions? You don't tell me where I am, you won't tell me what you are, and that kid was terrified of running into you!" Harry said loudly, attracting some of the attention of those passing by. Harry didn't notice when some of them glared at him.

"Why would I tell you, when you're going back home in a little while? Once you leave, the chances you'll be back here are very slim. You'll find that some of the citizens of this place don't take to kindly to newcomers." Cyrus informed him. Harry looked at him wide-eyed, was that some type of threat? Of course, he had worse, so he plowed on.

"What do you mean I'll never get back here? And what if I don't want to go home?" Harry asked quickly.

"Why wouldn't you?" Cyrus mused. Harry looked at him silently. He didn't dare tell this… this _stranger _of why he wouldn't want to go home.

_My parents hit and neglect me in favour of their other son._ Harry thought quietly to himself as he followed Cyrus through the town.

"Would you at least tell me where we're going?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, we have to go home. Well, my home anyway. We have no way of finding yours yet." Cyrus informed him.

"And where would your home be?" Harry asked as he followed the man through a space between two houses.

"It's on the other side of town, near a little pond. My wife chose it." Cyrus said with a fond smile on his face.

"If you live on the other side of town, what were you doing near the forest?" Harry asked cautiously. At home, he'd probably get a slap and a lecture about how you don't question your betters.

"Well technically, the people who live here are always near the forest." Cyrus said with a chuckle but seeing Harry's look of confusion, Cyrus explained.

"Think of it this way; this city, the capital of our land, is in the center. Then we have the ring of trees that we just came out of. Then there was that slightly larger circle that separated the ring of trees and the forest. To get a rough estimation of the forest, think of that ring of trees and multiply it by a hundred."

"But… but, it took us almost fifteen minutes to walk through that ring of trees! How do your people know how to get here? Especially if there's more creatures like the one I saw in there!" Harry protested, unable to make sense of the logic behind Cyrus' explanation.

"Harry, that would be telling, wouldn't it?" Cyrus asked with amusement dancing in his eyes and a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Why can't you just tell me?" Harry asked pleadingly.

"You're quite the knowledge mosquito, aren't you?" Cyrus chuckled as he led Harry out into what Harry guessed to be the center of town. He looked around the plaza, not answering Cyrus' question. While they had come from a small alley, Harry noticed there were actually four main roads leading away, reminding Harry of a wheel's spokes. Just to Harry's left, there was the road that led to the castle, he noticed that road seemed to have the least amount of people coming and going. In the center of the plaza there was a fountain and in the middle of the fountain was a black blade with its tip in a raised platform that stopped it from touching the water. Down the center of the blade, there seemed to be a gold strip. To Harry surprise, instead of the guard, there seemed to be a pair of purple wings sprouting out of the sword. Harry could tell it was metal, but the artist had really made it look as though feathers were on the wings.. All around the fountain and plaza, vendors had their stands.

At each of the four roads, Harry noticed there were two men standing at each of the entrances. Each of the men had a sword in a sheath that hung loosely at their sides, smiling and nodding at those who passed by them.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Cyrus asked Harry, snapping him out of his wide-eyed staring. Harry absently nodded.

"How come I've never read about this place? Or heard about it?" Harry asked in wonder.

"I doubt you ever will. We've kept this place a secret for quite some time. There's more too, much more. This may be the capital city, but there are many more places just like this." Cyrus said with a smile. He seemed like he was about to say more until he realized where he was talking to.

"Which is why we have to keep you a secret."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked as Cyrus motioned for him to keep walking. Cyrus pulled Harry tightly to his side as he started to head to the path opposite the one leading to the castle, Harry was about to protest the motion as he had definitely never been this close to someone other than Sirius and Remus. The pair passed the guard quickly and Harry noted that Cyrus didn't even look over to the guard. Cyrus did, however, seem to relax after they walked past the guard. Looking down the path, Harry realized how long it was. He could barely make out the trees all the way at the end.

"What do you mean, keep me a secret?" Harry asked as he pulled himself away from Cyrus. Looking around quickly, Cyrus looked down at Harry.

"I can't talk about it. I'm not allowed to. The King would have my head if he found out I was telling an outsider about this place."

"Sounds like a charming guy." Harry muttered quietly, though Cyrus heard him. Cyrus gave a low chuckle and held a smile like there was an inside joke to what Harry said.

"We're almost there." Cyrus informed him, "My wife will take care of you. She'll make sure you're not hurt or anything. Merlin knows what happened to you in the forest."

"What's her name?" Harry asked as he shifted nervously when Cyrus mentioned him being hurt or not.

"Lyla." Cyrus said with a smile.

"What's your last name?"

"Like I'm going to tell you _that_." Cyrus said with a snort.

"What am I going to call her then?"

"Lyla?" Cyrus said in confusion.

"That wouldn't be respectful." Harry frowned at Cyrus who turned and looked down at him, confusion and speculation in his eyes.

"Your parents have taught you well, Harry." Harry couldn't help but give a silent snort at that.

"You may simply call her Lyla though, I'm sure calling her Mrs. would just make her feel old."

"Are we almost there?" Harry asked with dread. He liked this place, it was… nice. He probably enjoyed it so much for the fact that he could actually be outside.

"It's just over there." Cyrus said as he lifted his finger to point to a little cottage right at the edge of the town. It wasn't in a neat row with the other houses. It sat right at the curve of the end of the road. Harry noticed that half of the house was concealed by the ring of trees. It definitely wasn't like any of the other houses he had seen so far.

"The pond is right behind the house. It goes about halfway into the ring of trees. It has a nice little clearing around it, perfect area to relax on a nice day."

"It is really nice." Harry agreed. "What makes you so special that you got it?"

"Quite the clever one there, Harry." Cyrus said with a chuckle as he approached the cottage. Looking around, Cyrus pushed open the door to the cottage. He turned around at the door when he noticed that Harry wasn't going in.

"I'm pretty sure I was taught not to go into a stranger's house." Harry said worriedly.

"We really don't have time for this Harry." Cyrus said as he looked around outside quickly. "Plus, don't you want to go home?

"I…I don't know." Harry said, even as he walked into the house and felt Cyrus close the door behind him immediately. Harry looked around the cottage curiously. The front door led into what seemed to be their sitting room where a white couch was directly in front of him. There were two windows in the room, one to Harry's left and one to his right. Two chairs each were at the window, letting people sit down and look outside. A small bookcase sat next to each window and Harry wished he could flip through the books.

"It's not very big, but it's nice for me and Lyla." Cyrus said with a fond smile.

"Lyla and I." Harry absently corrected.

"Let's go and meet my wife, shall we?" Cyrus said as he began walking towards the far end of the room. He led Harry through a single door that led to a hallway. Harry counted five doors. Two on his left, two on his right, and one at the far end of the hallway. He guessed one lead to a kitchen, one led to the backyard, and the other three were bedrooms.

"You have three bedrooms?" Harry asked as Cyrus led him to the closest left door.

"No, one's a study." Cyrus informed Harry as he pushed through the door. Harry scanned the room quickly. It seemed to be a basic kitchen with all the necessities. He remembered what Cyrus had said, a little small, but probably just perfect for the two.

"Hi honey." A woman, whom Harry guessed was Lyla, said absently as she cradled a cup of tea and looked down at a newspaper.

"Lyla, this is Harry." Cyrus said as he stepped out of the way so his wife could see.

Looking up, she gave a small "Oh!" as she spotted Harry. She studied him for a second before turning to her husband.

"Who is this?"

"Harry here was in the forest." Cyrus informed her. Lyla looked shocked and was about to say something until Cyrus cut her off. "But he isn't supposed to be here at all."

"What do you mean?" Lyla asked, her sentence drifting off as she studied Harry more closely. Harry shifted nervously at the intense scrutiny.

"How did he get here?" Lyla asked as she took a sip of her tea. Harry sensed her intrigue. He knew he sounded the same whenever Sirius or Remus brought him new books.

"I don't know, and neither does Harry. I found him stumbling out of the woods on my walk. I offered to get him a new shirt, and, get this, he thought I had a wand!" Cyrus finished with a chuckle. Harry blushed at how the man talked as if he wasn't there, but knew from experience not to say anything.

"That is odd." Lyla commented. Harry noticed a faraway look in her eyes. Clearing his throat, Harry caught the attention of the two and shifted nervously.

"May I just have a shirt and go? My parents will already be angry as it is…" Harry said uncertainly. Lyla's eyes flickered down to Harry's side, where a large cut was in Harry's shirt.

"You're bleeding too." Lyla said worriedly as she looked at the splotched of red. "Come on, I'll get you fixed up."

"It's fine."

"I insist." Lyla said kindly with a smile on her face.

"Ok." Harry said quietly. Lyla held out her hand and he grabbed it and let her lead the way. Harry was oddly comforted by the simple gesture. Lyla's hands were smooth, he noticed, and his hand fit snugly into hers.

"My husband's best friend's son has some clothes here for when he stays over. He's not at that stage where his godparents are too odd for him." Lyla said with a laugh as she went to the door on the far left.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked worriedly.

"He won't mind at all. He probably won't even notice it's gone." Lyla said as she continued to lead Harry to the room's bathroom. "First, we have to take care of your wounds so, off with the shirt."

"Uhh… It's ok, really!" Harry quickly reassured, worry filling his face.

"Come on Harry. I wouldn't do anything to you, I promise." Lyla reassured.

Harry looked down. In a second of bravery, he lifted his shirt over his head and lowered his head even more when he heard Lyla give out gasp.

"Harry, my god, what happened to you?" Lyla asked quickly. Harry heard the all too familiar sign of anger in her voice. He'd never shown his bruises to anyone, not even to Sirius and Remus. He guessed there weren't too much; he did bruise extremely easy, after all. So, whenever his brother pushed him to the ground, or his mother smacked him, or his father threw a book at him, he got a new bruise.

"How did this happen, Harry?" Lyla asked again in a demanding tone. Harry was about to reply when a loud voice outside cut him off.

"Cyrus and Lyla, we know who you are harboring! Release the outsider now! He has no right to be here, and if he's not out in a minute, we're coming in!"

**A/N **Here's the rewrite of chapter three. As you can see, there have been a lot of differences. The major ones will probably stop around Hogwarts. Sorry about not updating last week, I was on vacation and had no access to my writing. The updates will most likely be every other week as I now have to start studying for my end of the year exams. And yes, I know last chapter may have been slightly confusing, but that's the way it's supposed to be. This chapter is un-Betaed and the reviewed one will be posted later.


	4. The Kings

Harry froze at the noise. He looked up to Lyla who seemed to be staring back at him, seemingly oblivious to the announcement.

"We know you're holding him in there, Cyrus! Just bring him out, and maybe we won't burn down your house!" A voice outside commanded with a laugh, snapping Lyla out of her daze.

"Lyla, there is no way out, they have us surrounded." Cyrus informed them from the doorway, having just appeared there.

"What're we going to do?" Lyla asked worriedly as her eyes flickered to Cyrus and back to Harry.

"I can just leave." Harry suggested in a quiet voice. He knew that only he could screw things up simply by existing.

"What? No! We couldn't just hand you over!" Lyla said fiercely.

"I'm going out there. Perhaps I can talk them out of burning down the house?" Cyrus said with slight sarcasm as he turned to leave the bathroom.

"Who is it?" Lyla asked.

"Aaron, like always." Cyrus said with a sigh.

"What's happening?" Harry questioned after a second ticked passed.

"Some people found out you're here and now they'll want to take you to one of the kings." Lyla said quickly as she went into the next room, returning with a black and grey striped polo shirt.

"I hope this fits. I think you're about the same size as Nick." Harry watched Lyla as she distractedly muttered the last bit to herself, with a glance at the door. She quietly gestured for Harry to follow after he slipped on the slightly oversized shirt.

As they started to approach the front of the house, Harry heard voices coming from outside. Lyla herself seemed to be trying her hardest to hear them. Reaching the front door, Harry watched as Lyla put her ear to the door, even though he could hear the voices without trying.

"…Doing this, you're opposing the law." A voice outside said. Harry recognized it as the one who spoke earlier.

"I know." Cyrus said calmly.

"You could be put to death." The voice continued, a gleeful tone in his voice.

"As I could have you put to death for threatening me." Cyrus replied back quickly.

"They wouldn't kill me!" The voice snapped at Cyrus.

"And you think they would kill me?" Cyrus asked curiously.

"This is getting us nowhere. Get in, get the boy." The voice commanded forcefully.

"How do you know they aren't already gone?"

"Nate would have felt it." The voice snapped back again.

At the name Nate, Harry heard Lyla curse under her breath.

Before Harry could hear Cyrus reply, he felt a hand clamp down on his mouth and was pulled back into someone. He desperately tried to scream to Lyla, who hadn't noticed her young charge's capture. Harry felt himself forced to walk backwards and for a split second, everything became pitch black and quiet. In another second however, light assaulted Harry's senses. Shocked, Harry found himself in front of Cyrus and Lyla's house with seven other men outside, each with a sword at their side.

"Got him." Harry heard the man who had him say.

"Good." The voice from before said as he turned from where he was looking at Cyrus. Harry studied the man quickly. He had blond hair that barely hung in front of his eyes. His face was twisted into an evil smile. He was wearing all black. His complexion was pale, but he seemed over…_ dark,_ as if a shadow hung in front of him, distorting his image.

"We'll take him to the kings. Hopefully this time we'll get a show." The man said with a laugh that sent a chill down Harry's spine.

"Aaron, don't do this." Cyrus said, losing his calm tone. Harry was surprised at what he thought was pleading in Cyrus' words. It was the first time someone other than Sirius and Remus seemed to care for him. Lyla seemed to care too, but Cyrus seemed to have a different attitude towards him.

"Oh, believe me, I won't take pleasure in this. Oh wait, yes I will!" Aaron replied with a laugh. He turned towards Harry. "And besides, we can't have a filthy _human_ here, can we? Taint our wonderful kingdom? I think not. Walk."

Harry was forced to turn around by the person behind him and began walking. He tried desperately to escape, but the man had an iron grip on his shoulder.

"At least let me take him!" Harry heard Cyrus cry out from behind him. Trying to look back, Harry could barely make out Cyrus grabbing Aaron's arm, Lyla not far behind.

"So you can break him out? I think not." Aaron said with a snort. "No no, my men will take the boy in, once this is all settled, we might just let you have the body."

Harry felt his mouth open in horror. The man, he couldn't be thinking about really… _killing him_, could he?

"You know that won't be allowed to happen!" Cyrus protested. Harry thought he heard fear in his voice as he was forced to walk toward the center of town. He felt himself shift, or at least his body tried to, as the citizens pointed and whispered.

"Oh, won't it though? You do remember what happened last time, don't you? I think it was my best work yet. I loved how that one spat at me, I do love it when they try to fight back!" Aaron said with a laugh. The more he heard Aaron talk, the more he wanted to get away. He hoped it was some type of dream, or even some type of hallucination. Whatever it was, Harry wished it would be over soon.

As Harry was forced to walk into the center of town, the noise stopped when they noticed Harry. All movement stopped also, as they watched Harry be forced through the center. Some looked at him with anger, fear, and only a few with pity.

"Don't worry people!" Aaron called from behind. "I'm sure we'll be back in a little while to give you all a show!"

"Aaron!" Harry heard Lyla shout. "Stop this! He's only a boy!"

"Exactly! A boy who might be able to lead people back here! Do you want more people here, people who could ruin this? You see what they did with their world! I won't let that happen here." Aaron said with conviction.

"You monster!" Lyla yelled back.

"Now now Lyla, it isn't nice to speak to your betters like that." Aaron said with a chuckle. Harry felt his horror growing as he realized they were almost at the castle. He had hoped it would be farther away from the center.

"Aaron, what do you think you're doing, parading your men around like this!" A guard shouted upon their approach to a gate that separated the normal path to the direct path to the castle. Through the gate, Harry could see grass on either side of the path, but nothing else. It seemed the path just led straight to the castle.

"I'm here to deliver a present to his royal highness." Aaron said happily. "This boy seems to have thought he could just waltz in here!"

"I swear Sir, I never meant to get here!" Harry protested for the first time since his capture. Aaron looked down at Harry with a smile.

"Be that as it may, you're here now and you must deal with the consequences." Aaron said gleefully.

The guard looked to Aaron for a second and his eyes shifted to Harry. He looked at Harry with pity, but reluctantly granted them passage.

"I'm almost giddy with excitement!" Aaron announced from somewhere behind Harry.

Harry tried to look around as he was forced down the path towards the castle, however he couldn't help but be drawn to the dark, shadowy, circular structure that contained the castle. Made of small rectangular black bricks, the square structure seemed to have sprouted from the ground, surrounded by its very own outer shield. Harry recalled reading about charms that could protect buildings and everyone inside it from outsiders and he suspected that the castle would have to have been placed under one such charm, but it wouldn't explain why he could see the structure or the castle it was harboring. He remembered repellant charms also that would stop any object or living thing and would hazard a guess that the king must be aware of such charms or at least something similar. Otherwise, there would be no other explanation for the lack of wildlife or houses or the lack of people traffic or the fact that he could go near the structure. It really was a shame that they didn't want Harry around as he would have thoroughly enjoyed learning about how they managed such a feat.. A few feet from the door, Harry was forced to stop walking, looking up from his thoughts, he noticed that they were stood before the only way in to the castle. A solid black door, without hinges, knobs or keyholes; Harry couldn't tell what material the door was made from but by observation alone he would guess that the door was made out of a very strong form of metal. Whatever it was, it had to be resilient to most types of attack as the structure seemed to have been designed to keep people out. A circular tower sprang up at each of the four corners, suggesting lookout points for castle guards, even though there did not appear to be anyone around. The castle itself was even more unique than the walls that surrounded it. It seemed that the castle was encased in its own shadow and as such, it was difficult to discern exactly how it looked. The only thing that Harry was certain of was that the castle was very tall, but if Harry looked hard enough, he could make out a main tower sprouting from the middle of the castle. Faintly, Harry could see a glass room all the way at the top.

Aaron walked in front of the men and stood before the door. In a quick movement, he slashed his index finger from the as far of the top right of the door as he could reach, to the bottom left.

Harry looked at the door in amazement as a thick black line trailed out of Aaron's finger. It spread out quickly until it covered the whole door, emitting black wisps of smoke around the edges.

"Like that, did you?" Aaron asked Harry with a smirk on his face. "Take him through."

"I have to go through that?" Harry asked loudly, afraid of what was on the other end.

"Don't worry." Aaron said in a way that made Harry worry even more. "We still have a bit more of a way to go before you're judged."

"Please!" Harry pleaded as he was forced to walk. "Cyrus! Lyla! Please, don't let this happen."

"Aaron, please!" Harry heard Lyla scream, her voice laced with unshed tears. Before he could hear Aaron respond, Harry was forced through the wall of darkness. Everything turned black, like before when he was taken out of Cyrus' house, and when light returned he was in a corridor with the shadow wall behind them.

Harry glanced at his surroundings and noticed that the inside of the castle seemed much the same as the outside. Black bricks made up the wall and torches hung every couple of feet or so. There was about one or two doors in the hallways and up ahead there seem to be an intersection of five different paths.

Harry stood in silence with the man who held him as they waited for the others to emerge from behind them, taking the time to calm himself from the day's overwhelming events in an attempt to keep the inevitable tears from falling. Eventually, Harry heard footsteps from behind, signaling others were coming through.

Quietly, a hand slipped into his and Harry looked up to the sad face of Lyla. She smiled down at him with tears in her eyes.

"It'll be ok Harry, I promise." She said quietly.

"Nate." Aaron said from behind. Harry felt the man who still had his tough grip on his shoulder move. "Let Lyla take him. Stay close though so she doesn't try anything."

Looking around, Harry realized that Cyrus hadn't come through. He voiced his question to Lyla.

"He went up ahead." She said simply.

"How? I don't recall seeing him." Harry said as he began walking with Lyla. They continued forward when they reached the intersection.

"He went up ahead." Lyla said again. Harry simply nodded his acceptance as the group continued on in silence. Harry looked to the blacked marbled floor and took solace in the fact that Lyla was there for him. With a cold stab to his heart, he realized that Lyla showed more love for him in the little time he knew her than his parents ever did.

The group walked for a long time, shrouded with silence. Whenever there was a turn or anything of the sort, they just continued straight. The longer they walked, the more dread Harry felt descend upon him.

Finally, they reached a door at the end of a dead end. Harry couldn't stop himself from looking at it. The door was black, like everything else Harry had seen today, and held the image of a golden eye. It was one of the pictures where it seemed to follow you where ever you went, and that's the impression Harry got from it. A sword stabbed the eye from the top through the bottom, the same sword from the fountain.

Aaron approached the door cautiously and knocked three times in quick succession. They waited in silence for a couple of seconds and Lyla squeezed Harry's hand tightly.

Quietly, the door swung upon to reveal a guard who looked at them quietly. He quietly stepped out of the room, which Harry couldn't get a glimpse at, and looked at them all patiently.

"We're here to deliver a trespasser." Aaron explained.

"We know." The guard said emotionlessly.

"Then let us through!" Aaron snapped back.

"I need to confiscate your weapons."

"What?" Aaron bristled. "On who's authority?"

"The Kings, of course." The guard said with a roll of his eyes.

"I know that you idiot! Which one?" Aaron snapped back.

"I don't take kindly to being called an idiot." The guard said coldly. "And does it really matter?"

"I refuse to give up my weapons." Aaron said stubbornly. Harry looked at him with amusement.

"Then you can stay out here." He said with a cold smile. He then turned to Lyla and Harry. "You two come with me."

Harry followed Lyla without a sound. When they passed the guard, he shut the door behind him, leaving out a shocked Aaron.

Harry looked around the room in amazement, although at this point he shouldn't be surprised. The room was large, probably about the size of one of the houses outside. At the opposite wall from the door sat five thrones. The two in the middle were the same gold as the eye on the door and had high backs. They each held black and gold jewels in them, giving it a nice look. The two on the end were silver, but just as decorated as the gold ones. Then, the last one seemed to be the most simple. It sat exactly in the middle, dividing the two sides. It was just plain black, like the stone that made the castle's surroundings and its interior. But in Harry's opinion, it was the most beautiful.

Three of the thrones held people, the far silver one on the left and the middle one remained empty.

The person in the left golden chair seemed to be about in his twenties, just like Cyrus. His black hair was longer however, and was held loosely into a ponytail behind his head. His golden eyes looked upon Harry with kindness in them, which Harry observed happily. He was dressed nicely, a black polo shirt (which it seemed everybody owned) that outlined his muscles. A simple gold crown rested atop his head.

In the right golden chair, a man who seemed to be in his fifties sat with anger in his golden eyes. His long, salt and peppery hair was shorter than that of the man in his twenties. Covered with small scars, his face reminded Harry of that of a war veteran and his hate filled scrutiny wreaked havoc on Harry's nerves. As he stood next to Lyla nervously, Harry couldn't help but ponder upon the relationship between Cyrus and the veteran due to their shared facial features.

Finally, in the right silver chair, sat Cyrus looking at Harry with a small smile on his face. Harry looked on in surprise.

"King Darius and King Tyler, Lyla Shade and…. Harry." The guard announced, finishing nervously. He quietly walked back, hiding in the shadows near the door they came through.

"Normally," The man who sat in the golden chair next to Cyrus began. He had a loud, deep voice that echoed off the walls. "I wouldn't bother with a trial. You're guilty. The law says no one not of our blood is allowed here. You, of course, are not of our blood. A filthy wizard, I'm told. However, my fellow king and my son have convinced me to try and judge you and see if we should let you return to your home."

"I kindly protest to something you said, King Darius." Lyla said loudly as the king finished talking. Harry looked at her in shock.

What was she trying to do? Cyrus and the other King had given him a chance to go home! It may not be the best place, but it was better than death! Judging by the look on the faces of three people in front of him, they were also shocked.

"What is it Lyla?" King Darius asked quietly, his face red with anger.

"I wish for Harry to stay here, with myself and Cyrus." Lyla proclaimed loudly, seemingly unaffected by Darius' hateful glare.

"Are you mad, Woman? You want him to stay here?" Darius exclaimed, his face an even darker shade of red.

"I don't appreciate being spoken to that way, and no, I'm quite sane."

"What does Harry have to say about this?" King Tyler asked before Lyla and Darius could start fighting. Harry felt himself jolted out of his reverie at the mention of his name.

"What?" He asked meekly. At this point, he just wanted to go home.

"Would you like to stay with me and Cyrus, Harry?" Lyla asked kindly, turning to look at him in the eye.

"Yes", was Harry's immediate reaction, but he held it in. Did he want to stay here? Look at how he had been treated, just for being an outsider. Some of the people hadn't treated him like that, but those who had, made Harry reconsider his answer. They were cruel here, almost as cruel as his parents. Plus, there were more of them here. However, Cyrus and Lyla had been nothing but kind to him. Cyrus seemed distant at the moment, as did the other three, waiting to hear his answer. Would he want him to stay? Before, he seemed nice to him and friendly. Would he be like that if he stayed? He certainly didn't want another James. And Lyla… She seemed like how Lily should have been. She cared about Harry, and Harry had seen the look she had given him when he had taken off his shirt. She had looked and talked to him with genuine concern. Would she still be like that? It seemed to be a risk, but Harry thought it might be worth it. And hadn't Lyla mentioned they had a godson? Harry quickly stopped himself before he could get excited.

"Yes." Harry said loudly, sure of himself.

"Well, be that as it may, he doesn't belong here." Darius said quickly. "I said I would think about letting him leave, there is no way I would let some outsider like him here. He's pure filth and I don't want my land filled with that."

"Excuse me, Darius, but _your _land?" King Tyler asked quickly, a fire burning in his eyes. "He was not yet proven that he would disrupt our ways, and we have no reason to believe he will do so. Your judgment is ridiculous, and the boy doesn't deserve it. I vote for him to stay, or if he doesn't wish to stay any longer, he may be given free passage out."

"I second that." Cyrus said quickly. Harry watched with a small smile on his face, happy on the inside. Could he possibly be able to escape that terrible life he left at home? Cyrus flashed him a smile as Darius opened his mouth.

"No! There is absolutely no way I will allow it! I can't believe we are even voting on this! I won't let my fellow king and my own son go against me! This land has been a land of peace for a while now. You two may be too young to remember it, but the last war still leaves a stain on this land, and on me." Darius finished, his voice echoing loudly off the wall and he worked himself up. At the end of his rant, he slammed his fist down onto the throne, and through a murderous glare at all of them.

"Your highness," Lyla interrupted, a new fire burning in her eyes. "What if I could prove that Harry wasn't a _total_ outsider?"

"What are you talking about?" Darius asked, skeptically. Lyla turned to Harry and looked at him for a second.

"Harry, I need you to take your shirt off." Lyla asked quietly.

"What?" Harry asked nervously. Did she really want them all to see his cuts?

"Please Harry, I need you to do this if you want to stay." Lyla pleaded kindly. Harry looked at her nervously for a moment before quickly taking off the shirt Lyla had given him. Harry let Lyla turn him around, which he was thankful for as he wouldn't have to see their faces.

"One family in this kingdom had a type of… marking, so to say. This marking got passed down through the family, and it was something that nobody could attempt to copy. When I was looking at Harry's cuts earlier, I saw it but hadn't realized what it was until a few seconds ago. King Darius and King Tyler, I ask of you, to think back to your education, and tell me what this mark is." Lyla spoke, talking almost as if giving a lecture. Harry felt her sweep her hand down his back, and he felt… odd. Almost as if there was something there.

"Dear Merlin," Harry heard King Tyler exclaim. "He… he carries the mark of the Shadow Keepers!"

**A/N: **Sorry about this chapter being so late! My end of the year exams got a hold of me and I had to study for them! Even without those, I have been very busy. So, I apologize for that.

What does everyone think about this chapter?


	5. Explanations

Silence reigned at King Tyler's announcement. Everybody looked on with a look of disbelief, except for Lyla and Harry. Whilst Harry looked on with confusion and a hint of trepidation, , Lyla simply looked on with a knowing smirk, glad that the connection was made.

"That's absurd!" King Darius yelled out suddenly. "There is no way this wizard could carry the blood of a Shadow Keeper!"

"Actually," Lyla began, "the Shadow Keeper line faded out after… the incident. So really, we have no way of knowing."

"Even still, I highly doubt they would sink so low as to mate with… with… such _filth!_" King Darius shouted back.

"It is possible." Cyrus said contemplatively, his eyes still on Harry. "When the last Shadow Keeper, ah, _left_, we have no clue what happened to his kin. They most likely would have wanted to continue their line, choosing to marry wizards. We have no way of knowing, the only possible evidence we have is standing right in front of us."

"Please tell me you're not buying into this filth? I thought I raised you better than to believe in lies!" King Darius said, turning to his son.

"How can you say this is a lie, when we have the proof standing right in front of us?" King Tyler broke in, an unexplainable anger in his eyes. "You're just a blinded old man. We know nobody could have copied that symbol and _you_ know damn well how many have tried!"

"You dare turn on me too?" King Darius asked, the anger and betrayal he felt evident in his voice.

"I'm not turning on you, for I never held any loyalty to you. I am loyal to my people, and I will do what is right for them. If the Shadow Keeper has returned, then we must protect him, not kill him!" King Tyler said, standing up suddenly from his throne. Darius watched him with shock.

"Imagine how disappointed your father would be," Darius said quickly. "If he were to see you acting like this! This _boy_ could in no way help our people."

"My father would have applauded me for standing up to you and your reign of tyranny. He never had a say in anything, even though he held more authority over you! You tricked him and tried to make him conform to your ways, and you'd be a fool to try and do the same to me, or my son."

"How dare you accuse me of such things! This is ridiculous and I won't stand for it!" King Darius spat out, his face red with anger.

"Close your mouth, you big oaf." King Tyler said calmly. He then turned to Harry and Lyla, his eyes flickering to Cyrus for a moment. "If you would kindly follow me?"

"Harry, come on." Lyla said quietly as Harry observed the situation with shock and confusion. He put his shirt back on and Lyla reached for his hand, which he gladly accepted. At this point, it was his only source of comfort. King Tyler led them to a door Harry hadn't noticed before situated at a corner of the room.

"He's right father." Harry heard Cyrus say quietly, as they passed through the door. Before Harry could hear a reply, the door shut behind him.

"I'm sorry about that, but I couldn't stand him anymore. Having to listen to him every single goddamned day, it gets to you." King Tyler explained quickly, leading them down a hallway. Harry heard him let out a breath. "Excuse my language. . The man just infuriates me. I have no clue how that argument managed to switch to an entirely different subject."

"It's fine Tyler, you don't need to apologize. I know how he can be." Lyla replied reassuringly.

"True, _you_ should know more than anybody." Tyler said with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lyla asked in an offended tone, thought he eyes seemed amused.

"Please, you fight with that man more than anyone I know." Tyler said as he led them down another hallway.

"Only because nobody else can." Lyla said gravely. "I just hope Cyrus doesn't push him past his limits. That man is a ticking time bomb."

"I just realized!" Harry said suddenly, earning the attention of both adults. "I'm dead! Of course I am! How did I not realize? This is my own personal hell, it must be!"

"Harry," Lyla began quietly, kneeling down to look him in the eye. "I assure you, you are not dead."

"Then how do you explain this? This, this, whatever the hell this is! Its madness! How do I know this place is even real? How could it have stayed a secret for so long? I have no clue how I got here, and at this point, I just want to be home." Harry exclaimed. His voice sped up, making him sound slightly mad. Both adults stared at him for a second.

"Harry-." Lyla started to begin again.

"Maybe we should go somewhere to talk. We were going to talk anyways, but perhaps it needs to happen now." Tyler said, interrupting Lyla. "I'm sure Cyrus will meet up with us in a little bit. He'll probably be able to shed some light on things too."

Tyler turned around and began leading them down the hallway. Harry would _finally_ get some answers, it seemed. After being in this mad place that he knew nothing about, he would finally get some facts. Maybe somebody could tell him what the hell a Shadow Keeper was, and why they thought he was one.

"In here." Tyler said as he opened up a room. Harry followed after Lyla and took in his surroundings. It was a simple room. A deep green carpet adorned the floor, with a golden paint on the walls. A couch with a chair on each end sat in front of a fireplace that wasn't lit. On each side of the fireplace a window reached from the floor to the ceiling, overlooking the forest. Harry took pleasure in the fact that such a simple room could be in an extravagant place.

"Wait," Harry said suddenly. "Aren't we on the first floor? Why are we seeing the forest from so high up?"

"When Aaron took you through that door, it also took us up a couple of floors." Lyla explained, as Harry heard the door lock from behind him.

"How? What did he take us through? Was it some sort of portkey?" Harry asked quickly. He tried to reason it out in his head, but even with the portkey idea, it just didn't work. "I didn't feel the normal signs of a portkey."

"It wasn't a portkey, but it was a common way that our people get around." Tyler explained. "Take a seat, Harry."

"I… I think I'd rather stand."

"Are you sure? You have nothing to worry about; I have nothing to hold against you." Tyler said reassuringly. Seeing Harry's look of uncertainness, Tyler stood up.

"You said you wanted answers, and to show you I'm trustworthy, I'll give you some. You asked how you got through that door, which most likely looked like a wall of black, and how it brought you a couple floors up." Tyler made sure Harry was watching him before raising his hand high. His index and middle finger stuck out with the other fingers curled. Slowly, Tyler brought his hand down. As Harry watched, a black substance seemed to come out of Tyler's two fingers. He brought his hand all the way down until a line of the substance was in front of Tyler. The line had tiny wisps of black smoke constantly coming off of it, normally disappearing after a few seconds.

"This, Harry, is a shadow. Our people are able to control them and bend them to our will. We can do many things with it, solidify it and use it as a weapon, stretch it out and use it to cover ourselves, and one of the main uses, to travel." Tyler explained, sounding more like he was giving a lecture.

"How-?" Harry began to ask, only to watch as Tyler raised his hand. With a quick swipe of his hand through it, the line was gone as was all the black wisps. Tyler vertically held out his hand with his palm open. An oval shadow appeared in front of Tyler in a blink of an eye, two of them actually. One was directly in front of Tyler and the other was on the other side of the room. Tyler briskly walked towards the one closer to him and stopped just before it. He put his hand right in front of the shadow and Harry watched as he dipped his finger in. With his other hand Tyler gestured to the other shadow.

"How is that possible?" Harry asked in shock as he watched Tyler's disembodied fingers wiggle in the… portal? Whatever it was, Harry watched as the fingers wiggled in the other shadow on the other side of the room.

"How is magic possible? You were born with it, weren't you? We were born with this." Only this time, the lecturer wasn't Tyler. Harry turned around to see Cyrus standing at the door.

"How did it go?" Tyler asked before Harry could begin to question Cyrus.

"He was angry with me, you, and of course Lyla. But when isn't he upset with the three of us? I told him I agreed with you two and he 'dismissed' me." Cyrus told them with a bitter laugh. "What did I miss?"

"Harry was about to bombard us with questions, I believe." Lyla said with a smile.

"I just want to know what's going on! Am I going to be executed?" Harry asked, remembering they had previously avoided that particular subject.

"No. I wouldn't have let it happen before, and I still won't let it happen." Cyrus said seriously.

"What about all this shadow stuff? And what's a Shadow Keeper? And am I staying here?" Harry asked in a rush. He just had so many questions he wanted answers to.

"I told you, really. We don't know much about it ourselves. How did wizards get their magic? You could try and trace it a while back, but you would never really know. It's the same for us. However, unlike some of your people, we don't question it. We accept it and appreciate it."

"But, don't you want to know?" Harry asked incredulously. "I want to know and I have nothing to do with it!"

"I told you, we just accept it." Cyrus said simply, which made Harry want to pull out his hair. "And actually, if what Lyla says is right, you may have something to do with it."

"How could I be involved? I have no clue what is happening around here. I ask questions but I only get half answers, nothing makes sense in this damn place! You can't just say something works just _because_, you have to do research on the subject!" Harry yelled, his face becoming red in anger.

"Harry, watch your language!" Lyla scolded. Harry looked at her in surprise and even a little bit of shame. He really shouldn't have swore, there was no need for it. The whole situation just confused and infuriated him though.

"We'll try and give you as many answers as we can Harry, I give you my word." Cyrus promised him. "What would you like to know first?"

"Well, I obviously want to know if I'm staying here. Even if you wouldn't let me die, where would I stay? I'm not so sure I'd want to stay here if I have to put up with people like Aaron…" Harry trailed off. Harry watched Cyrus intently, wanting to know what he thought. Lyla had proposed that Harry stay with them, but Harry was not entirely sure what Cyrus thought, as he figured Cyrus would have to be impartial during the meeting. Harry noticed that even Tyler and Lyla were watching him expectantly.

"Yes. If that is what you wish, then you may stay here with me and Lyla." Cyrus said after only a second's hesitation.

"Are people going to treat me like Aaron did though?" Harry question seemed to make Cyrus look sad, something Harry didn't take as a good sign.

"I won't lie to you Harry, some will treat you like that. Some of the citizens here will attack you, be mean to you, and hate you for no other reason than you being who you are; a wizard. However, they are only a small part of the population. Many people don't care. They won't discriminate against you in any way. So, it's up to you what you want to do, stay here or go back with your family." Harry looked at Cyrus as he finished talking. He was honest to him, something that Harry greatly appreciated. Harry wanted to say yes, like he had decided to do not even half a hour ago, but he realized how uninformed he was. How could he say yes and stay here when he might be this Shadow Keeper? Would he be able to handle that?

"May… May I ask some questions before I make a decision? It's just that I don't want to say yes then find out I'll be forced into some role I might not be able to handle." Harry asked uncertainly.

"I think that sounds fair." Cyrus agreed. "Now, what would you like to know?"

"Well, since I can't get a good answer about how you got these abilities, what is a Shadow Keeper?" Harry asked as Cyrus walked away from the door and walked over to the window.

"You might as well sit down." Cyrus said with a sigh. "I can't really explain one thing to you without having to explain others. And I warn you, it won't be a short story.

Harry nodded and Cyrus continued.

"To put it simply, the Shadow Keeper is the person who protects us. They were the main enforcer of the law, the head of security if you will. He, or she, had certain gifts that some of us didn't. These gifts were passed down through blood, making it so the next Shadow Keeper _had_ to be of the previous' blood. This caused many fights and arguments for envious citizens. They wished to be thrust into the spotlight and looked upon as a hero. Some didn't even care if it was their children instead of them. They just wanted some piece of the action.

"Of course, they thought it to be small work. Why wouldn't they? Almost all of the Shadow Keepers we have had were excellent at their jobs. There was hardly any war or fighting when they were in power. Only when we had a Shadow Keeper that was not up to par would there be wars in our nation. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to most of their memories to blame them. Every single one of them led hard lives Harry, something most people forgot. They sacrifice their childhoods to be trained in many things. The current Shadow Keeper had to give up his time to teach their off-spring, passing knowledge by ear and some highly secretive journals.

"Of course, part of protecting us is taking part in our government. They made sure our rulers wouldn't pass laws that affected our safety. The chair you saw in the throne room between my father and Tyler was their throne. I'm sure you also noticed how, hmm, _plain _it was compared to the others. They tended to want to blend in so that everyone would go on with their business as if they weren't there. Of course, that never really worked because of how much of a presence they exude."

"But," Harry began, taking advantage of Cyrus' pause. "Does that mean there isn't a Shadow Keeper anymore? He wasn't there today, and I think I would be something that might concern safety. It also seems that there seems to be an army, if that was what Aaron was part of. A couple of times you even talked using the past tense."

"How very clever of you, Harry." Cyrus said with a smile. "Indeed, there isn't a Shadow Keeper _in these lands. _ That does not mean they ceased to exist. A long time ago, a war erupted between our cities. Not all of the cities in this realm fall under the same reign and the attacking city wished to 'free' the citizens from the government. If they had succeeded, they probably would have thrown us all into chaos.

"I digress. A small amount of their forces snuck into our town at night. They made their way into our city and to the home of the current Shadow Keeper. No Harry, they did not always stay here. They own a family home that is passed down. Nonetheless, they snuck into the house and quietly made their way to the Shadow Keeper's room. They quietly slit his throat and they would have slit his wife's had she not been at the Castle in his place. They made their way into the daughter's room, thinking her to be asleep. However, they found her playing with her friend. Her friend, a boy from a respected family of nobles, saw them open the door and yelled at her to run. The daughter was frozen in shock, despite her training. She eventually snapped back to her senses but by then it was too late to save her best friend from a knife that one of the assailants had thrown. She watched as a knife flew into the boy's forehead."

"How old were they?" Harry asked as he watched Cyrus take a deep breath.

"They were nine, Harry. Fortunately, the daughter knew to run instead of trying to fight. She didn't want her friend's sacrifice to be in vain. She didn't even have to think about it as she was swallowed by the shadows. She appeared at her mother's side in a second and collapse to the ground in tears after she knew she was safe. She told her mother what had happened. When they went to investigate, the attackers where gone and they were able to recover the bodies."

"What happened after?" Harry asked quietly, engrossed in the story.

"The wife was left without a husband, the daughter a father, and our city a Shadow Keeper. The daughter wasn't prepared to step into that role and the mother didn't want her to. They fled Harry, they left and never looked back. We never found out what had happened to them, but if Lyla is correct, we do now."

"I don't see how you think I could be this Shadow Keeper you speak of. How can you connect the daughter to me?"

"Because of the symbol on your back, Harry." Lyla informed him. Harry looked at her in shock, having forgotten that Tyler and Lyla were even there. "That symbol can't be copied."

"But somebody could have spelled that onto me!" Harry argued fiercely.

"True, they could have. However, once you came here, that spell would have worn off. Most glamour spells do when you enter this place. This castle prevents them. And, I'm willing to guess they weren't on you before?"

"No…"

"Then something must've happened that forced it to reawaken in you. Don't you want to know what that event was?"

" Yes… But I still don't see how… I mean, I can't make shadow portals and things like that! I can't even be trusted with a wand yet!"

"Just because you can't do it yet Harry, doesn't mean you can't do it at all. Obviously you would have to be trained in it, among other things." Cyrus said patiently.

"And you guys are positive of this? One-hundred percent?" Harry asked nervously.

"Well, nothing is ever one-hundred percent Harry, but I definitely believe it is you." Lyla told him with a small smile.

"I've seen people try to fake the markings you have on your back Harry and none have been able to. Once they enter this castle, it wipes them clean off. I believe it is you." Tyler said with his own smile.

"And Harry," Cyrus began. "I've studied the Shadow Keepers so much that I could list off all of their shared features. You could fit the description without a problem. And believe me, that mark is an exact copy of the others. I would know, I see it every time I close my eyes."

"So… assuming I accept the likelihood of me being a Shadow keeper, what would happen?" Harry asked cautiously.

"You'd be loved. You'd be hated. You'd be envied. You'd be famous. There are so many things that you would become, Harry. You wouldn't even know the effect you would have until you went through with it. Most importantly, you'd be a symbol of hope."

"Why?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"People here are getting sick of our government, well, mostly my father. They're despising the old ways we used to live by and they are becoming restless. With each generation that passes, people want to become more and more modern. My father and a small group of others would do anything they have to for that not to happen. They wish to stick to the old, out-dated ways. Tyler himself was a beacon of light for the majority of our population because he was younger. He'd be more sympathetic to the modernization. However, there are two rulers of two different ideals. What do you think happened most of the time without a third judge?"

"A stalemate." Harry provided quickly, not really letting Cyrus finish.

"Indeed. There hasn't been much of a change, Harry and certain people are getting restless. They would wish to attack the government and bring us down. People wouldn't want to wait for me take the throne. This would only lead to turmoil and perhaps being conquered by others. You would be a shining ray of hope, someone who might be able to help them modernize. People would flock to you by the dozens. However, some would wish to mold you into someone they could use. You would be pulled into different ways every time they got close to you."

"Oh, is that all that would happen?" Harry asked quietly as he sat down hard on a couch.

"Not quite." Cyrus said solemnly. Harry looked up at him and waited for him to dump more duties onto him. "You'd have to train. Hard. No offense, but you are not as fit as some would wish their protector to be. You'd have to study our ways and learn all of our history that you could. People would tear you apart if you didn't know it. You would have to learn from your predecessors' mistakes and their accomplishments. You would have to sit in on boring government meetings and try to act as if they were the most important thing in the world. You'd have to perfect your emotions so you could change them at any moment's notice."

"Oh." Was all Harry said.

"You're forgetting something though." Cyrus said and waited for Harry to look up to continue you. "You'd have _us._ You wouldn't be alone, Harry unless you wanted to be. We'd be there with you, guiding you along the way. We'd make sure you had fun and had a normal childhood. We'd be with you every step of the way Harry."

"We would never desert you, Harry." Lyla said fiercely.

"Never. Myself and my wife would be there with you too, Harry. There would always be someone available when you need." Tyler said with a smile.

"So, what do you say? Do you want to stay here with us?" Cyrus asked, both looking and sounding hopeful as he looked at Harry. Harry looked away quickly. He really wanted to say yes. He didn't want to go back to his parents and it seemed that Cyrus, Lyla, and Tyler wanted him to stay. Plus, here he would be doing _good,_ instead of just being shoved to the ground.

"You mentioned something about other abilities?" Harry asked, his memory coming back to him. _It really wouldn't hurt to hear of a few more positives before I said yes, would it?_ Harry thought to himself.

"Flying." Tyler said with a grin. Cyrus had a small smile on his face too.

"Flying?" Harry asked, a little disappointed. "I've flown before on a broom. So that would be nothing new."

"Have you now? Have you ever flown _without _a broom?" Tyler asked mischievously.

"That's not possible." Harry said with a frown.

"Oh, but dear young, naïve Harry, it is indeed possible."

"How?"

"One only needs a set of wings!" Tyler said dramatically. Harry watched him for one… two… three seconds before he exploded with laughter.

"You're joking! ...right?" Harry asked nervously when he saw Tyler and Cyrus' smiles didn't disappear. "You guys don't actually think you have wings, do you?"

"We don't' _think _we have wings, we _know_ we have them." Tyler said with a smirk.

"Oh really? Would you mind giving a demonstration?" Harry asked, only slightly condescending.

"Of course not. Cyrus, would you mind greatly taking the right window?" Tyler asked in a polite tone that didn't quite match his smirk.

"Of course not." Cyrus said, equally polite.

"Idiots." Harry heard Lyla whisper to herself, but she watched the two with a smile and a shake of her head..

"You're not buying into this, are you?" Harry asked her. Lyla just chuckled a little bit. Harry watched as Cyrus stood in front of the right window. He continued to watch as Cyrus pushed the whole thing open. He noticed that Tyler did the same thing on his side.

"You're not going to actually jump, are you?" Harry asked nervously.

"On the count of three Cyrus?" Tyler asked with a laugh. Harry could feel the wind flow into the room.

"One." Cyrus started.

"Two."

"Guys, I was only joking!" Harry yelled quickly, his voice drowning out the three that Cyrus and Tyler both called out. Harry rushed to Cyrus' window as he jumped. Shocked and scared, Harry watched as Cyrus and Tyler plummeted toward the ground.

"They're going to die!" Harry yelled.

"Have a little faith." Lyla said calmly. Harry watched the two men rocket towards the ground and about fifty feet before impact, he witnessed a miracle.

Wings! Actual_ wings_, seemed to unfold themselves from Cyrus and Tyler's back. Harry watched as the wind caught them and they pulled up. Harry could hear their laughter even from where he stood. The turns they made seemed so choreographed and graceful, yet spontaneous and crude at the same time.

"Yes!" Harry called out towards the flying pair. "I made my choice! I want to stay!"

_**A/N**_**: **"Take that, writer's block!" Says the author at 3:34 AM with an extremely little amount of sleep in him and with an extreme craving for a cappuccino or something deliciously caffeinated because it has been _way_ too long since he had something like that.

Oh! Hello there! Hehe, it has been a long time, hasn't it? I really am sorry about that. It seems summer actually makes your writers block _worse_ in my case. I hope you all enjoy this though something seemed to grab me today and forced me to write this chapter. No complaints from me though. As always, thanks to my wonderful BETA, Tindual.


	6. Family Meeting

_**Family Dinner**_

"I have to go home and get changed." Cyrus said quickly as he stood at the door. They were still in the same room as before. Tyler had already left to go and talk to his family. "I'll be back in about half an hour and then we can request to take custody of you and for the ritual that will prove you're the shadow keeper."

"Are you going to put on your ceremonial robes?" Harry asked with a small laugh.

"No. Those are only for executions. I should put them out just in case though…" Cyrus said, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"Cyrus!" Lyla said with indignation.

"I'm only joking with you, Harry." Cyrus assured Harry with a chuckle. He crossed the room from his spot to give Lyla a hug. He then turned to Harry and knelt down so he could look Harry in the eye. "I promise everything will be fine Harry. I don't want you to worry."

"Kind of easy for you to say." Harry said nervously. "How do you know that I'll be allowed to stay?"

"If you're not allowed to stay, me and Lyla will just have to leave with you. From here on out, the three of us are in this together." Cyrus said reassuringly, giving Harry a bright smile. He gave Harry a hug, continuing to hold on even when Harry tensed. He let go of Harry after another second and stood.

"I'll be back." He said simply, leaving the room quickly.

"What do we do now? Besides waiting, I mean." Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well, I guess now would be no better time than to get to know each other. There isn't much we know about each other, is there?" Lyla said with a smile. Seeing Harry's nervousness, she offered to go first.

"Where were you born?" Harry asked as he took a seat on the sofa.

"I was actually born a few houses away from where me and Cyrus live now." Lyla replied as she took a seat in one of the room's chairs. A light wind came from the still open windows and Harry was pleasantly surprised it didn't give him a chill.

"Um, what is your family like?"

"We were always really close. I was an only child but I considered Tyler to be my brother. Our fathers were old friends and they always kept in touch. One day, Tyler's father brought him along and after that we became attached at the hip. Tyler was the one that introduced me to Cyrus." Lyla said with a smile.

"What was it like the first time you and Cyrus met?" Harry asked, smiling at Lyla.

"The first time I met him, I actually punched him in the face." Lyla said, laughing.

"What? You punched him?" Harry asked, shocked. He tried to think of a child version of Lyla _punching_ Cyrus when he was a child. Even only knew the couple for less than a day, but he couldn't see Lyla attacking Cyrus.

"He had been acting like a complete snob when we met. He kept talking about how he was going to be king when he was older and how that _obviously _made him better than me. He went on and on about how he was richer and better. Then, he took a look at my clothes and made some comment about how I got them out of the trash. He got me so mad I punched him right in the mouth! I gave him a fat lip and everything!" Lyla said with a laugh.

"Cyrus doesn't seem like the type of person to act like that." Harry said, confused.

"He isn't, and wasn't. It turned out Tyler and Cyrus had thought it would be funny to pull a prank on me. After they told, I gave Tyler a good slap. After that though, the three of us started hanging out and we became inseparable. I did have to give them a good punch every now and then though." Lyla said with a laugh.

Harry just sat there and tried to imagine child version of Lyla, Cyrus, and Tyler. It wasn't that hard seeing as the three of them were still young.

"How about I ask you some questions now?" Lyla suggested innocently.

Harry gave a tentative nod. _"She'll find out eventually," _Harry thought to himself. _"and I can always say I don't want to answer her questions."_

"Ok. Guessing from your accent, you're probably British. Am I right?" Lyla asked with a calming smile. Harry nodded tensely.

"Yeah. I was born in a hospital in London but I lived in a small town called Godric's Hollow." Harry quietly replied.

"I've never heard of it. But, then again, I've never really explored much of Britain. Ok. New question."

Harry tensed, waiting for a more personal question. He wouldn't be surprised if she asked about the bruises or scars on his body. It was then a surprise to him when she asked him his favorite color.

"Um, I don't really have one. I just prefer bright, calming colors. Light green, light blue, yellow…" Harry answered, relaxing into the couch a little bit.

Lyla gave a small, "hmm" as if saving the info for later use. Before she could ask another question, Cyrus walked back into the room.

"You're back soon." Lyla noted. Cyrus just gave a nod. He had exchanged his old clothes for a black suit with a yellow tie and handkerchief. Harry noticed he had even jelled his hair back. Harry got the impression of some fancy lawyer, like the ones he had sometimes seen on TV.

"Me and Harry were just getting to know each other. I told him about the first time we met." Lyla said with a smile. Cyrus just let out a laugh.

"I can sometimes still feel the pain." Cyrus said as he let out a fake moan of pain.

"Don't be such a wimp." Lyla joked as she stood up and kissed him. "Feel any better?"

"Of course. One kiss from you could heal any pain I have." Cyrus said with a smile. "We should leave though. We don't want to wait too long. The day's end is quickly approaching."

"What happens when we get down there?" Harry asked nervously.

"It's all very routine. All we have to do is request custody of you, which we'll be granted, and request the ritual to prove you're the shadow keeper, which will also be granted."

"How are you going to take custody of me though? What about Lil- my parents?" Harry asked, catching himself when he almost said Lily and James.

"They don't have custody of you here, so when it gets granted you'll be our ward as long as you remain here. After we get custody of you here, we'll delete all records of you in the magical and muggle world. It'll be like you've never even existed."

"How can you just erase my records though?"

"We have our ways." Cyrus said with a mysterious smile. "Now, are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Harry said quietly as he walked towards Cyrus and Lyla. When he reached them, Cyrus quietly held out his hand for Harry to take. Harry stared at Cyrus for a second before taking hold of his hand.

"Let's be on our way then." Cyrus said as Lyla took his other hand. The three walked out of the room, hand in hand. To Harry, the walk towards the throne room seemed to take long then the walk away from it.

"Shouldn't me and Lyla have to get all dressed up too?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

"No. I'm the only one of the three of us that will be talking. When you talk before the kings, you're supposed to be dressed in your best clothes. This is only my second best suit though, so don't tell." Cyrus said with a wink. The three continued in silence until they eventually came upon the door Lyla and Harry were led to before. Two guards stood at attention.

"I'm here to request an audience with the kings." Cyrus said when they stopped in front of the door.

"Who are we to announce?" One of the guards questioned, though Harry was almost positive he knew who Cyrus was.

"Cyrus Shade, accompanied by Lyla Shade and my temporary ward." Cyrus said, adopting a more formal tone of voice. One guard nodded and walked into the room. He came back within a few moments.

"Your audience is granted." The guard informed them. The other guard quickly patted the three of them down. When he found nothing, they followed the first guard back into the room. As they walked into the room, Harry quickly averted his eyes to the ground so as to not look at Darius.

"Announcing Prince Cyrus with his wife, Lyla Shade, and their temporary ward." The guard announced loudly. His words echoed off the stone walls. Cyrus led Harry and Lyla to the middle of the room. He let go of their hands, took a step forward, and dropped to a knee.

"Good afternoon, my Kings. It is an honor to be in your presence." Cyrus said formally. Harry smiled at the ground at the irony. Wasn't it normally Cyrus that heard those words?

"Good afternoon." King Tyler and King Darius replied in sync.

"Thank you for granting an audience with me."

"What do you request of us?" King Tyler asked, though Harry knew Tyler already knew.

"I would like to request full custody and responsibility of my now temporary ward." To Harry's surprise, King Darius erupted in laughter at Cyrus' words.

"You know Cyrus," Darius began when his laughter died down. "I think this is the farthest you have ever gone to try and rebel against me."

"I can assure you my king, this is no joke."

"Cyrus…" Darius replied, a slight growl in his tone. "Stop the act. You know you can't let this happen. You think I would actually let you taint our family's line with his filthy blood?"

"Darius…" Tyler cautioned. "You must not let your personal issues get in the way of this choice. Think of it logically. This boy has no guardian or anyone at all who would be willing to take him in. Cyrus here is doing us a favor. By taking responsibility of the child, we don't have to worry about him running amuck and causing damage."

"I still say no." Darius said with hate in his tone.

"I vote yes." Tyler said kindly.

"_It's a tie. What happens no-" _Harry though, only to have his mental question cut off.

"I vote yes." A third, unfamiliar voice said clearly. Harry quickly looked up and noticed the chair to the right of Tyler was now occupied. He hadn't noticed the small boy before in his fear to look at Darius. Harry noticed that the boy seemed to be about the same age from what he could tell. Even though he was sitting, Harry thought the boy might be tall for his age. He had broad shoulders and had some amount of muscle under his still there baby fat. He had straight brown hair that fell to the bridge of his nose. Golden yellow eyes observed Harry as his mouth curled into a smirk. _Was this Tyler's son?_

"The notion is passed." Tyler said with finality, smacking his hand loudly onto his chair. Harry snapped out of his observations to look at Tyler. _Passed?_ It had actually _worked?_ "Harry is now your permanent ward and you must claim full responsibility for him."

"I also have another request to be voted upon." Cyrus said as his eyes quickly flicked to his father.

"If you request to make that _boy_ of our blood, I will strip you of the family name and all of its privilege!" Darius yelled. Harry watched as spittle flew out of Darius' mouth as he yelled.

"As horrifying as that would be," Cyrus said with the undertone of sarcasm. "I am the only child in the _noble_ house of Shade. If you were to disown me you would not have a successor and the council would then be forced to elect a new king. Is that really what you want?"

Darius glowered at his own son as he thought over his words. He seemed to weigh the options over in his head and after a minute or so, he barked out a "proceed".

"I would like to request that my ward be put through the Shadow Keeper examination so that he may claim his rightful place in our society." Darius let out a bark of laughter at something only he seemed to find funny but stayed silent.

"I approve your request." Tyler said, echoed by the boy seconds later. Tyler didn't even bother to hear what Darius had to say before he slammed his hand down on the chair. "Your second request is also approved. We shall have council again at a later time to decide when the examination shall take place. Meeting adjourned!"

xXxXx

"What do we do now?" Harry asked as the three of them exited the castle through the shadow portal.

"Well, for now we just go home and wait for Tyler and his family to come over. And then after that, we'll take it day by day." Lyla said as she held out her hand for Harry. She smiled when he grasped it after only looking at it for a second or so.

"Does Tyler's family always come over?" Harry questioned as they started walking away from the castle.

"Most of the time." Cyrus said as he pulled at his tie. He looking around slyly and added in a stage whisper, "Bunch of leeches, they are. We can't get rid of them!"

"Oh, shut it you!" Lyla said with a smile. She nodded at the guards as they opened the castle gates for them.

"Was that boy next to Tyler his son?" Harry asked as they approached the town square. Harry noticed that a few people sent them looks but most minded their business.

"Yes, that was Tyler's son. Our godson, like we mentioned before. His name is Nick." Lyla informed Harry as she sent looks back at anyone who glanced at them.

"Oh, that's the boy you were talking about. How old is he?"

"He actually just turned just turned eight in October."

"Oh." Harry said in reply. The three continued their walk in silence as they walked through the busy streets.

"Home sweet home." Cyrus said happily when they walked up to the house. He swung the door in and let Harry take the first step.

"You first step into your new home. Home does it feel?" Cyrus questioned.

"Actually, it feels more… homey." Harry said as he looked around the room. When he first entered the house, he felt out of place and unwanted. Now it felt like a place he could actually live in…

"You'll be taking Nick's old room. Is that ok? If you want, me and Cyrus can help you paint and rearrange the furniture. Or buy you new furniture if you want." Lyla said uncertainly.

"The room will be more than enough for now. Maybe when I get more comfortable I'll repaint the room?" Harry suggested as he tried to reassure Lyla.

"Whatever you need." Lyla said with a smile.

"Tyler and everybody won't be here for a while. Why don't you go freshen up in your room?" Cyrus suggested. Harry nodded and walked down the hallway until he reached the far door on his left. He opened the door and quietly shut it behind him. Harry took a second to look around the room. Before he hadn't really had time to appreciate the room for what it was.

It was a large square room was a door that led to a bathroom and French doors that led to the backyard. The rug was a plush dark green that reminded him of grass in a forest. And to Harry's surprise, he noticed that all along the walls tree were expertly painted. As Harry scrutinized them, he realized that they had even painted animals into the forest scene. Completing the forest scene was the ceiling. It was painted a deep, rich blue color that matched the night sky. Painted on stars flickered when Harry looked at them at certain angle. The entire scene made Harry feel calm and relaxed. Pushed up against the wall with the door was a king sized bed with a lighter green than what was on the ground. At the foot of the bed was a white loveseat. Across from the loveseat was the door that led to the room's bathroom. On the left wall stood a dresser and a bookcase that as filled, to Harry's delight. Finally, on the right side of the room were the French doors that led to the backyard. Harry walked over to them and looked out into the backyard. The pond that Cyrus had described sat directly in the middle of the clearing with a picnic table near it.

Looking around the room, Harry definitely felt like he could get used to this new life style.

xXxXx

"Harry, they're here!" Lyla called from the living room. Harry looked up from the history book he was reading. His shaggy black mop of hair was stilling dripping, Harry having not bothered to dry it off after his shower. He had wanted to get into the stack of books in the bookcase right away. He didn't even care that he was reading a history book; it was still a history book from _another world_. Harry quickly set the book done and shook his head to try and dry his hair a bit more. Giving it up as a lost cause, he quickly left the room and went back to the sitting room. Tyler and Nick were already sitting down and Harry noticed what he thought to be Tyler's wife.

Harry stared in shock as he looked at the woman. Harry had sort of stereotyped what she would look like based on the others. He was _completely_ wrong.

The woman was downright gorgeous. Not that the others were ugly, but she knew how to make it more pronounced. She had straight blonde hair that to her shoulder. She wore a necklace of pearls and a black cocktail dress that ended a few inches above her knee. The tight black dressed beautifully showed off her hourglass figure. She wore black high heels that made her tall legs seem even longer. She looked at Harry with bright blues eyes that seemed to be brimming with happiness. Harry got the overall impression of a model he had once seen on the cover of one of his mother's magazines.

"Hi Harry! It's sooo good to meet you! My name is Marie!" Marie said, sounding over excited.

"Er… How are you?" Harry asked nervously.

"Soo good! I got my nails and hair done today!" Marie said, showing off her fresh pink nails and giving her hair a flip.

"That's good…" Harry said uncertainly. Just as he was about to talk, Marie became a blur and in a second he was on the ground.

"Wha…?" Harry questioned as he looked up at the ceiling. Marie's face hovered over Harry's and the previous look in her eyes was replaced with a glare.

"He underestimated me. Rule one of surviving is to never underestimate an opponent based on how they look or act." Marie said seriously as she pulled the boy to his feet.

"It's his first day Marie. You can't expect the boy to be on guard against everyone. Believe it or not, we're exactly trying to get him to trust us." Cyrus said as he rolled his eyes.

"That may be so, but I had to test the boy. If I were forced into a new situation I would be on guard constantly." Marie said as she looked Harry up and down.

"Sorry about my mother." Nick said to Harry as Cyrus and Marie continued to argue. He gave Harry a bright smile and held out his hand. "My name is Nicolas, but you can just call me Nick."

"My name is Harry." Harry replied nervously as he shook Nick's hand. Harry looked over at the adults as Cyrus and Marie continued to argue. "Are they always like this?"

"Unfortunately." Nick said with an exaggerated sigh. "Cyrus and my mother and my dad and Lyla bicker like they were brother and sisters. If that wasn't bad enough, my parents and Cyrus and Lyla fight with each other all the time! I feel so neglected sometimes!"

At Nick's last comment, Harry's posture stiffened. He knew Nick was joking around, but the comment still brought up bad memories. He quickly shoved aside his emotions and gave Nick a nervous laugh.

"Harry." Marie said before Nick could reply. Harry looked over and noticed that the four adults were all looking at him. Marie gave him a tentative smile. "I'm sorry about the way I acted. In hindsight, it might not have been the best way to greet you when I'm sure you're already nervous about being here. I probably seem like a cruel woman, but I'm honestly not."

"I accept you apology." Harry said with a small smile at the woman. He stuck out his hand towards Marie. "My name is Harry and it's nice to meet you."

"Hello Harry, my name is Marie." Marie replied seriously even though her lips were pulled upwards in a smile. She shook his hand firmly as her eyes twinkled.

"If you want to get out of that dress, you can borrow some of my clothes." Lyla offered Marie with a smile. Marie thanked Lyla and walked off into the hallway.

"We should make ourselves comfortable; we have a lot to talk about." Cyrus suggested as he and Lyla sat down of the loveseat in the middle of the room. Tyler, Harry, and Nick each claimed one of the chairs.

"Since you'll be living here, I guess you'll be taking my old room?" Nick questioned, breaking the room's silence.

"Er… Yeah. Sorry about that." Harry apologized.

"It's fine. I can always have Uncle Cyrus build me another room." Nick said with a wink to Harry.

"You wish kid." Cyrus replied with a snort.

"But what about when I come to stay the night? Will you throw me out in the cold?" Nicked asked as he put on his best puppy dog eyes. Harry tensed up as he tried to block memories of the one night he actually _had_ been thrown out into the cold for a night. When Remus found him the next day, he was starting to get hypothermia.

"Yeah Cyrus! Would you really let my poor, defenseless son freeze to death?" Tyler added with a smirk.

"Ha ha. You two are so funny." Cyrus said jokingly as he sent them both a weak glare. "We'll see about getting you a new room. I have no idea where we could put it though…"

"Why don't you give Harry your room, I'll keep mine, and you and Aunt Lyla can expand the house to add another room for yourself." Nick suggested innocently.

"Before you know it, he'll be suggesting we give him the house." Cyrus stage whispered to Lyla, who laughed at their antics. Before the conversation could continue, Marie walked in wearing a simple outfit that consisted of jeans and a blue blouse. Harry still thought she looked beautiful, though he now knew that under that there was a dangerous woman. He did silently appreciate the lesson she had quickly taught him, however.

"I have a question for Harry before we start. Well, for all of you really." Marie said as she claimed the last chair in the room. "What about your parents Harry? Lyla and Cyrus adopted you, but what about your parents back home? Won't they freak out when they find out their son is gone?"

"Um…" Harry began nervously. He shifted in his seat and glanced at Lyla and Cyrus and he realized that they were waiting for his answer. "Cyrus and Lyla asked me if I wanted to stay and I said yes. My parents won't really miss me…"

"I highly doubt that." Marie said as she continued to watch Harry. Anger rose in Harry. How could this woman that he had only just met act like she knew his parents more than he did?

"Well, you don't know my parents, do you?" Harry snapped back at her. "My parents abused and neglected me and they wouldn't give a damn if I dropped off the face of the earth!"

Harry glared at the group as his gaze swept over everyone. Everyone looked at Harry in shock, having not heard the boy raise his voice since he had arrived.

"Did you two know this?" Marie asked, looking over at Cyrus and Lyla.

"Not everything…" Lyla started, glancing over at Harry. "I saw the bruises and scar on his back and I just sort of figured… And then when we asked Harry if he wanted to stay, he didn't say no."

"That's all there is to it. Let's just talk about something else." Harry said, trying to veer away from the topic of his personal life. Everybody looked at him when he talked and he didn't like how their gazes lingered longer than necessary.

"Well, we can start by going over what we already know." Lyla suggested, causing everyone to look at her instead. "For one, if what we believe is true we can say that the Shadow Keeper line didn't die out. We also know that the line also has magic flowing through their veins."

"Is that good?" Harry asked to no one in particular, feeling embarrassed still from yelling at them.

"Well," Marie began. "You certainly have more at your disposal. You'll be able to accomplish more things and do them faster than any other Shadow Keeper before would. However, certain people aren't going to think you're worthy or pure enough."

"Like my father." Harry heard Cyrus mutter.

"Don't your people have magic in them too though? I mean, there must be some type of magic in your kind if you can do what you do." Harry questioned as he thought about everything he had seen since he had arrived.

"We do have magic in us. Some have more than others. There is even the rare few who can get a wand and become a wizard. However, most of us learn to suppress it. For most of us it causes more trouble than it's worth." Cyrus informed Harry.

"Well, people here already hate me." Harry said. "It won't really affect me if even more just because I have magic."

"As many that will protest you being here, even more will rejoice at it." Cyrus said, to which Harry just nodded.

"We should start from the beginning now." Lyla said as he adjusted her position on the couch. "How did you get here?"

"I… I have no idea." Harry said seriously. He looked down at his hands. "The last thing I remember before I arrived here was going to sleep." _After yelling at Remus. _Harry silently added.

"Is that all?" Cyrus gently questioned.

"Yes." Harry said as he gave a small nod of his head.

"And then after you arrived here?"

"I woke up in a forest. I had no idea what happened so I climbed a tree to try and see any sign of civilization. I saw the castle so I started walking towards it. I heard an animal so I started running. I… I don't know how it happened but one second I was a couple miles away from the castle and then I was at the edge of the forest. Once I got out of it, I met Cyrus."

"I think you probably transported yourself when you were running because of how you panicked. The extra adrenaline must have caused it." Cyrus said as he looked at Harry. "I know that forest pretty well, and the nearest cleaning isn't for a couple miles, like you said. And you said you weren't running for long either."

"I.. I do remember it getting all dark right before I came out of the forest." Harry said. It was amazing to him that it had only happened this morning. To him it felt like a lifetime!

"If you could have done if in the forest, why couldn't you have done it here? We'll just have to try and figure out what caused you to get here." Cyrus reasoned.

"But exactly what could have caused it? If fear and the burst of adrenaline caused him to jump a couple of miles, what sort of terror did you go through that caused you to transport here?" Tyler asked as he scrutinized Harry. Harry didn't like the way the adults looked at him as if he was as a bug and he shifted in his seat.

"Stop looking at him like that." Nick snapped at the adults, forcing them to look away sheepishly. Harry smiled gratefully are Nick, who smiled back.

"We'll have to figure out what happened somehow." Cyrus concluded.

"Well," Harry started. "If it was something _really_ big, it'll be in the Daily Prophet. That's our newspaper. If it was something small that happened in my family, I doubt we'll ever find out. My family was I hiding and only eight people, including my family, knew where we were. And the four that weren't family would never talk to strangers about what happened." Harry explained as he tried not to get too deep into his family's past. That wasn't really a subject he wanted to bring up so soon.

"So than we check the paper and hope that it was something big." Marie said. "How can we get a copy of that paper?"

"Diagon Alley." Harry said immediately. "Even if you couldn't find the paper, I'm sure if you listened to somebody's conversation you would find out what you needed to know."

"Sounds great! And easy!" Cyrus said happily.

"There is one problem though…" Harry said sheepishly. "I've never been. I've only heard stories about it. It sounds great though."

"Hmm. I can do some snooping around. We do have some magical contacts in Britain that we keep up with." Cyrus said thoughtfully.

"We'll have to do that tomorrow though. It would be rude to question them at this hour." Tyler said as he checked his watch. Harry looked out the window and to his shock, noticed that it was dark outside.

"What's for dinner?" Nick questioned, causing the atmosphere in the room to change. Before it had been formal and business like but now it seemed with the one question, everything had changed. Harry had to admire Nick for his ability to completely change the atmosphere with one sentence.

"I don't feel like cooking and I'm sure nobody else does either. Why don't we just go out?" Lyla suggested.

"Nothing fancy." Marie said quickly. "I don't feel like getting back into that dress."

"Anywhere is fine with me." Tyler said, to which Cyrus agreed.

"Why don't we go somewhere in Britain in honor of Harry?" Nick suggested.

"I don't remember saying I was British…" Harry said as he gave Nick an odd look.

"Your accent kind of gave it away, Harry." Nick said with a laugh. "So, do you know anywhere good?"

"Not really. Remember, my family was in hiding? We couldn't really sneak out for a burger and chips whenever we wanted to." Harry replied with a shrug.

"Why was your family in hiding?" Nick asked curiously.

"I really don't want to get into that right now. I know it's inevitable, just not right now. Please." Harry muttered, knowing they heard him.

"Whenever you're ready Harry." Cyrus gently agreed.

"We could just go to a local pub?" Nick suggested.

"That's fine by me." Tyler said, to which everyone else agreed.

"Won't it seem weird if we just appear out of nowhere in front of a restaurant?" Harry questioned as everybody stood up.

"That would seem extremely suspicious." Cyrus agreed. "And that's why we have safe areas we know we can shadow to without fear of being seen."

"That's pretty clever." Harry said as Cyrus walked towards the center of the room.

"Can I?" Nick interrupted just as Cyrus raised his hand. Raising an eyebrow at Nick, Cyrus gestured him forward nonetheless. Nick smiled at Harry when he saw that Harry was watching him closely. Nick raised his hand into the air and held it there for a few seconds as he closed his eyes. Harry noticed a black ring on Nick's finger that darkened as Nick concentrated. After a few second, Nick slowly lowered his hand and caused shadows to pour out of his hand. Though Nick's hand didn't continue to the floor, the shadows did.

"I'm not going to end up in Alaska, am I?" Tyler joked as he stepped forward to test the portal. Nick shook his head happily as he admired his work. Tyler walked through the portal and disappeared.

"It's amazing." Harry said as he stared at the portal.

"You'll learn how to do it." Nick said with a smile. Harry smiled back at the boy.

"What's the ring on your finger for?"

"It's sort of like training wheels for opening portals. I've only just started learning so I wear it to help open them. Once you start training you'll get one. They're family heirlooms." Tyler came back through the portal and cut off any remark Harry might have made.

"All clear." He said simply before disappearing again.

"You go first Harry." Lyla offered. "If you want, close your eyes and just walk. You've already done it, so this should be no problem."

Harry walked towards the portal so that he stood right in front of it. Even though he had traveled through the portal before, he followed Lyla's suggestion and closed his eyes as he walked towards it. When he opened his eyes, he stood in a small wooden shack. He walked out of the door and found Tyler standing guard at the end of a gated alleyway.

"Alright there Harry?" Tyler asked when Harry walked up to him. Harry just smiled and nodded his head as a reply. Tyler took out a key and opened the gate and gestured for Harry to follow him out. Harry watched from the end of the alleyway as the rest of the group emerged from the shack. Looking around, Harry realized that he was somewhere else in Britain other than Godric's Hollow. Smiling, Harry spun around and soaked in the tall buildings that surrounded them. His smile grew as a warm breeze blew through his hair. The breeze made him realize how warm it actually was.

"It's certainly warm for November." Harry commented, talking to no one in particular.

"November?" Lyla asked, confusion lacing her voice.

"Yeah. November 1st, right?"

"Harry…" Cyrus said uncertainly. Harry turned to look at them and noticed the confusion and worry on their faces. "We're halfway through June already."

**A/N:** Wow, it certainly has been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry about that. I know that sounds pretty generic, but I really am. I always wish I had more time to dedicate to my writing. Whenever I have the time, something else calls my attention. And whenever I want to write, I'm normally in school. Please forgive me? Like always, thanks to my lovely BETA Tindual, who continues to put up with me for some unknown reason.

Reviews are always nice! Even if you want to say how I should change something in the story. If you want me to avoid a certain subject or go into more detail on some things, just let me know! I always love hearing from my readers! :D


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